Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Anthurium andreanum cultivar Baby Smile.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium plant, botanically known as Anthurium andreanum, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Baby Smilexe2x80x99.
The new Anthurium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Schipluiden, The Netherlands. The objective of the program is to create and develop new compact, freely clumping and freely flowering Anthurium cultivars with strong roots, dark green leaves, attractive spathe color, and good inflorescence longevity.
The new Anthurium originated from a cross by the Inventor on Mar. 7, 1998 of a proprietary selection of Anthurium andreanum identified as code number 9515, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Anthurium andreanum identified as code number 9715, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Baby Smile was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Schipluiden, The Netherlands in November, 1999.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by meristem culture in a laboratory in Belgium since December, 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Anthurium plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
The new Anthurium has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of the cultivar Baby Smile. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Baby Smilexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Freely clumping growth habit.
3. Durable dark green leaves.
4. Dark red-colored spathes with white-colored spadices that are positioned above and beyond the foliage on strong and erect scapes.
5. Freely flowering habit.
6. Good inflorescence longevity.
Plants of the new Anthurium can be compared to plants of the female parent, the proprietary selection identified as code number 9515. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Schipluiden, The Netherlands, plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the selection 9515 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium had darker green-colored leaves than plants of the selection 9515.
2. Plants of the new Anthurium had flatter spathes than plants of the selection 9515.
3. Spathe color of plants of the new Anthurium was dark red whereas spathe color of plants of the selection 9515 was orange.
Plants of the new Anthurium can be compared to plants of the male parent, the proprietary selection identified as code number 9715. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Schipluiden, The Netherlands, plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the selection 9715 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium were more compact than plants of the selection 9715.
2. Plants of the new Anthurium were more freely clumping than plants of the selection 9715.
3. Plants of the new Anthurium had dark red-colored spathes whereas plants of the selection 9715 had white-colored spathes with red and green-colored venation.
Plants of the new Anthurium can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Baby Red, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,468. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Schipluiden, The Netherlands, plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the cultivar Baby Red in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium were larger than plants of the cultivar Baby Red.
2. Leaves and spathes of plants of the new Anthurium were more rounded than leaves and spathes of plants of the cultivar Baby Red.
3. Plants of the new Anthurium and the cultivar Baby Red differed in spathe coloration.